Sunrise
by Sweet Ashori
Summary: My entry for Gruvia Week 2017. Prompt 2: Sunrise. "In the illumination of a new day, with the beauty of the dawn lighting them up, there was a feeling of something perfect forming."


Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail. Obviously!

Authoress' Note: Like Gruvia Love Fest, this will be my first Gruvia Week participation! I hope that if you enjoyed my Gruvia Love Fest entries – Tight and Sweet – then I hope you like these ones as well!

 **Prompt 2:** Sunrise

Sunrise

The first thing Gray Fullbuster realized upon waking up was that he was alone.

Of course, he was used to being alone for the most part, but knew that when he went to bed last night, he wasn't alone. He was sharing the bed with someone last night, but now that person was gone, leaving behind chilled blankets.

Still, he could tell that he wasn't truly alone. Strewn about the bedroom was the clothes his bedmate wore the night before, along with a few other necessities, so he knew that they were still somewhere in the apartment they shared. With a yawn and a scratch of his head, Gray stepped out of the bed, slipping on a pair of jeans he kept on the side, then walked out the room and towards the kitchen.

He picked up the scent of tea, as faint as it was. Light puffs of steam came from the kettle's spout, indicating it was freshly made. Not one for wanting tea in the early morning, Gray yawned again and grabbed an apple from the fruit basket that was set on the table. He looked into the living room, not seeing any signs of his roommate, and his brow raised in confusion as to where they could be.

As he raised the apple to his lips to take a bite, Gray caught sight of a faint shadow on the curtains of the big, sliding door window that led out to the balcony. He walked towards it, sliding the curtains back and revealing the figure on the other side.

"Oh! Good morning, Gray-sama."

"Morning... you're up rather early today, Juvia."

The blunette water mage smiled, the twinges of sleepiness still in her eyes, "Juvia woke up a bit early, and decided she wanted to see the sunrise today. She's sorry if she woke you up though."

"You didn't," Gray said, taking another bite of the fruit, "I was just confused when I woke up and you weren't there."

"Juvia's sorry. But Gray-sama woke up just in time to watch the sunrise too," she commented, turning back towards the horizon.

Gray's gaze lingered on her for a few moments longer before he turned his eyes towards the horizon as well. He thought back on the last year, since he confessed his feelings towards the blunette and opened his heart and home to her. He never expected to fall for her, but he also didn't know when it was that he realized he was as madly in love with her as she was with him. Waking up every morning to her sweet face, being able to train and eat with her every day, spending each night with her wrapped up into his arms and being able to greet and end each day with a kiss... it was more than Gray ever wished for in his life. His eyes looked back over at Juvia, watching as she took another sip of her tea, and he smiled at how her face was lit up in the colors of the early morning.

His left hand went down to his pocket, feeling the outline of a ring buried in the corner of it. He had been giving the thought of proposing to Juvia a lot of thought in the last few months, but nothing ever seemed right. He kept it in his pocket at all times, waiting for the right moment to finally show itself, to finally be able to ask the water mage to be his forever more. Gray's eyes gazed back over at the sun, then back at Juvia once again. There was a sense of calm about him, and a thought telling him that this moment may be the right time. In the illumination of a new day, with the beauty of the dawn lighting them up, there was a feeling of something perfect forming.

Juvia's blue eyes turned towards him, and she smiled as she noticed that he was looking at her. "Gray-sama looks even more handsome in the morning sunshine," she complimented, "Juvia is glad that she could watch the sunrise with you today. Isn't it beautiful?"

"Sure is," Gray commented, but it wasn't towards the act of nature, "Hey, Juvia?"

"Yes, Gray-sama?"

"I want to ask you something."

Juvia arched a brow, placing her tea cup on the railing and turning completely towards her beloved, "What is it?"

Gray sighed, putting the apple down on the railing, wiping his fingers off on his pants of what little juice was on them. One hand in his pocket, his fingers wrapping around the ring, he took one of Juvia's hands into the other.

"Gray-sama?" Juvia whispered, her face beginning to heat up with a bit of blush.

"I know I hadn't always been the best man. I had my demons, and I used them to constantly push you and others away because I didn't want them to take any of you away. You know the many times I thought if I just disappeared... if I sacrificed myself, then not only would the demons leave me, they wouldn't haunt the ones I grew to care about," Gray explained, rubbing his thumb over Juvia's knuckle.

The blunette nodded her head, remembering those times she had witnessed and heard of, feeling a pain in her chest growing in response. "Yes, Juvia remembers," she replied, "And she sacrificed herself for you too, Gray-sama."

"I know you did," he acknowledged, "It was through that and the sacrifices of others that helped to make me realize that my life was worth living, and by hell or high water I was going to make sure I did live for them. But especially for you. That day, when we both tried to kill ourselves because we didn't want to hurt each other, that made me realized that, if I couldn't live for myself, I needed to live for you. I realized then how much I loved you, how much I needed you, and how much I wanted to make sure I never saw you like that again."

Gray began to kneel down, and Juvia's free hand went to her mouth as she gasped. "G-gray-sama, what are you...?" she squealed out, her heart beginning to race and her face turning the brightest shade of red.

"We've been through so much together, and even though we've technically only been together for the last year or so, I feel like I've been with you for my entire life. Maybe because for a lot of the time, you clung to me like a lost puppy," Gray said with a bit of a chuckle, earning one in response, "But even then, I know that I want to make sure that you are with me for the rest of it. So... Juvia Lockser..."

He pulled out the ring – a simple gold band with a small diamond embedded into it – and held it out to Juvia. She began to cry at the sight of it, releasing another gasp in revelation. "Will you marry me?" he asked at last.

Juvia's eyes welled up with tears, her lips were parted, and her heart felt like it was about to pop out of her chest. Gray waited for her answer, growing increasingly more nervous as the seconds ticked by without a response. He began to doubt himself: maybe Juvia loved him, but didn't want to marry him. Now what can be done? What will happen to their relationship-

"OF COURSE JUVIA WILL MARRY GRAY-SAMA!"

That excited scream was more than enough to put Gray at ease, and he smirked as he slid the ring onto Juvia's left ring finger, albeit with a bit of struggle due to her excited movements. He stood up and attempted to grab her into a hug, but found himself tackled and falling back towards the end of the veranda. He quickly steadied them, making sure they didn't accidentally fall over, although he couldn't say the same for the apple and mug that fell instead, landing on the ground with a strong crash.

"Whoa! Guessing you forgot we weren't necessarily on the ground," Gray joked, his hands on Juvia's upper arms.

"I guess so. But Juvia is just so happy! She's going to be Gray-sama's wife!" Juvia added, her hands on Gray's chest, "Juvia loves you, Gray-sama, so much."

"I love you too, Juvia. So very much," he replied, smiling as they leaned in towards each other.

Their lips touched in the sweetest of kisses, their arms moving to wrap around each other and bringing themselves closer to each other. Gray could taste the salt of Juvia's tears, but knew it was from happiness. He had tasted those tears before, mixed with her blood, and he knew he didn't want to ever had that touched his lips again. By gods, he would make sure of that.

The two parted, smiling at each other as bright as can be, as they turned back towards the horizon. The sun was up a little further, the colors of the land becoming much more prominent than the dusky twilight sky. Gray felt a wave of relief and happiness wash over him; he was used to being alone, but he knew he never wanted to be alone ever again. He had his nakama, his guild home, and now more importantly, a wife that will always be by his side, for the good and the bad and everything in between. He was at peace... at long last, he was at peace.

"We should go and clean up the mess we made before people start to come out and start the day," Juvia commented, "And then make something for breakfast before we head to the guild?"

"Yeah, we should. But I think there's something else I'd like to do before then," Gray remarked, a sly smirk on his face as he looked down at his fiancee.

"What's that?" Juvia asked, a bit of a squeak in her voice.

He chuckled and tilted Juvia's head slightly to align his lips up with her ear. He whispered something into it, and Juvia's face became as red as a ripened cherry in response to his words.

" **G-gray-sama!"**


End file.
